Volume

With the mtb races finally approaching for me (1 more month!) it was time to up the volume. Yes, even the traditionally shorter XC races will require more pedal time then these road races I've been doing. So, I set out with the task of riding 3-4 hours. I knew that unless I wanted to ride circles in front of camp I would have to ride off the mountain, which would be extremely fast and fun. But, also meant that I would be climbing my way back up the mountain to get home. So I opted for the easiest route possible, a stunningly beautiful ride down and around the Rondout reservoir. After reading the Monkey Man's latest post I see that it is quite possible to take some wonderful shots with my good ol' 'point and shoot.' However, I was all loaded up with food and water bottles and left the camera at home. I managed to ride 46 miles with 1800ft of climbing. That's 3x the amount of climbing you'd get in the same mileage on the Reading loop back home. I had one little scare on the ride when I flatted. I have been going back and forth on my bikes and had left my seat bag on the Superfly. Fortunately I flatted near my friend Tom's house and was able to get repaired and back on the road. Enjoyed the scenery around the reservoir and made the turn around. It would be all uphill now. I made it back to camp in 3 hrs 10 minutes, the longest I've been in the saddle all year.